Eating chocolate okay: fitness guru

IT IS the guilty pleasure of many, but one Sunshine Coast fitness guru says you should be able to indulge your taste for chocolate this Easter without guilt with a little planning.

In fact, to have the desired effect, you should savour every moment of it too.

SculptLife Sunshine Coast Personal Training owner Bianca Aiono does six cardio workouts a week and spends the seventh day swimming, kayaking or even climbing mountains.

But while fitness is a large part of her life, Ms Aiono is the first to admit to having an insatiable taste for chocolate.

“I love Lindt chocolate bunnies. I fold the ears into the bottom and put milk into it and drink the milk out of it. I've been doing that since I was about six,” she said.

Easter eggs are high in both fat and sugar, making them a double whammy when it comes to calorie and kilojoule counts.

Research has shown a tiny Cadbury solid mini egg has 39 calories and 163 kilojoules and would take six minutes of walking or four minutes of running to burn off.

But Ms Aiono is not a fan of the “if you do the crime, you must do the time” mentality.

Rather than thinking each calorie must be worked off until you get back to zero, Ms Aiono said guilt-free treats were possible if you chose one meal and one dessert each week where you could have whatever you liked.

“It's like paying back your credit card. No one's motivated to pay it off, but if you are saving up for something and are prepared for it when it comes time to spend the money, it's a much better experience,” she said.